Legend has it after a failed audition with mega-group Thin Lizzy, Adrian Vandenberg went back to the drawing board and decided to start his own band. Poised with an axe to grind and several hard rock influences easily spotted from a mile away, Vandenberg and his band of gypsies were poised to take over the hard rock scene with their 1982 debut. Overall, Vandenberg is a fiery testament to Vandenberg's skill as a guitarist. He shreds with the best of them, taking cues from Hendrix, Page, and a little bit of Tony Iommi. Of course there are the gratuitous moments of guitar acrobatics ("Wait") and the obligatory power ballad ("Burning Heart") but that really doesn't detract too much from the band's main focus: to deliver a solid hard rock record that is easily one of the most underrated debut metal albums of the '80s. ~ Rob Theakston